It's a ridiculous record, one of those numbers that barely makes sense. A three-game winning streak would sound just fine to the Warriors right now. They wouldn't dare dream of eight. How about 33?

We're discovering this month why the Miami Heat hold a singular place in the NBA's hierarchy, odds-on favorites to win the title and, amazingly, take down the Los Angeles Lakers' record from the 1971-72 season. Perhaps no one will surpass 56 (Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak) or 100 (Wilt Chamberlain's single-game scoring record), but 33 isn't at all daunting to LeBron James, Dwyane Wadeand Chris Bosh. They'd probably feel insulted if the mark somehow eludes them.

Friday night's victory over Milwaukee made it 21 straight, with Toronto up next on Sunday. "I'd say this is the most serious challenge we've had to our streak," said Gail Goodrich, who teamed with Chamberlain, Jerry West, Jim McMillianand Happy Hairstonin the Lakers' starting five, in an interview with Fox Sports. "They might even break it. Who's going to beat them? There's not as much parity in the league now."

That is undeniably true. Even with that dazzling streak - and a title at season's end - the Lakers weren't the dominant team of their era. The Knicks won two titles in the early 1970s ('70 and '73), and the Celtics won two ('74 and '76). Just for fun, here's a look at the Lakers' opposition during that 33-game run:

In other words, discount all claims that Magic Johnsonand Larry Bird"saved" the NBA from a 1970s decade "nobody cared about." When it comes to star power and quality of the opposition, the Miami Heat can only fantasize about the obstacles faced by those long-ago Lakers.

Around the NBA

-- Refreshing take, as always, from San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich: He feels there is inherent danger in a long winning streak, especially near playoff time, because the letdown is too great. "I don't want to win 20 in a row again," Popovich told ESPN radio, referring to the Spurs' streak leading up to their being swept by Oklahoma City in last year's playoffs. "It's too much of a grind. I thought about doing things to make sure we got a loss here and there, but you can't do that to your team."

-- Player of the Week: Minnesota's Ricky Rubio, still not 100 percent recovered from knee surgery but routinely laying waste to defensive schemes. Even more impressive than the numbers (21 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists in a win over San Antonio) is Rubio's desire. "You can't stop a guy from playing that hard," coach Rick Adelmantold reporters. "But I kind of worry about him, the way he throws himself around. His activity is incredible."

-- As the injuries pile up, the NBA is once again humiliated by a schedule that runs far too long. Actually, there's no humility involved. "Oblivious" is a better word for those blinded by avarice. Speaking at a New York function promoting TV coverage of the upcoming NCAA Tournament, Charles Barkleysaid a 70-game season would be much preferred, but won't ever happen, "because the owners are greedy pigs."

-- Speaking of the collegiate game: Nice to hear Dick Vitaleridiculing the five-foul ejection rule, a blight on the landscape for years. Once again, with the onset of March Madness, we'll see star players sitting out huge chunks of the first half because they picked up two quick fouls - or missing vital stretch-drive minutes for fear of drawing that fifth foul. The answer is six, OK? Amazing they can't get it right.